Friday, January 21, 2005

A Cautionary Tale

An interesting and somewhat sad story about a dad more interested in his son's sports career than actually having a son.......

For the father who drove his son so hard, the acrimony burns like a knife in the back. "I'm an iron-asshole bastard who made all of his money the hard way, through my own sweat," says Marc, who lives with his wife, Brenda, and 15-year-old daughter, K.D., in Lakeland, Fla. "I invested everything I had in his golf game. I was floored when my flesh and blood, my own son, told me to shove it."


The GT Link? Just a quote from a guy at GT who used to ride with him. But check out this quote from his dad (Marc) on 60-minutes:

"I was in business 20-plus years and I know how to make a profit," he told CBS. "You've got the same old thing - it's material, labor and overhead. He's pretty good labor."


It also sounds like the son is worried about his his dad suing him for earnings. His dad says no - he won't do that. But here's what he will do:

Marc says he has placed 25 photocopies of their contracts and a cover letter into envelopes he plans to mail to media outlets when his son makes a splash on tour.


"As soon as he gets famous, I am going to lower the boom," Marc says. "I am going to show everybody what he did to me. I have no intention of suing him. I intend to crucify him in the media, because what he did to me is not right."


I tell you - I feel the most sorry for their 15-year old daughter, still at home. The last quote of the story:

Meanwhile, as Sean begins his PGA Tour career, 15-year-old K.D. O'Hair is back in Lakeland with an eye on a future in the theatrical arts. The performance of Sean's little sister in a Christmas play staged last month in her hometown was described as "luminous" in a newspaper review, and she belted out the national anthem at an Orlando Magic basketball game a few weeks ago. Both the U.S. and Canadian anthems, in fact.


"We think she has a chance to be something special," Marc says.


Wow. Not much else to say except to decide where your life's priorities really are. Amazing.